Did HAL Sell the Prinsendam?

[mim100]

The staff on board were incredible -- we did not suffer significant seas on our way South or in the Caribbean but we really got hit the last sea day going North. My DH and I are seasoned cruiser and know what to do to avoid significant discomfort so we enjoyed the day, but many on board stayed in their cabins most of the day -- and this is where the staff really shined -- they kept it all going even though many of them were not as well as they could have been, and with the sounds of breaking crockery from the pantry on our floor as well as the dining room and kitchen, the seas certainly did provide them loads of extra work.

 

arzz...a little off the topic here but can you tell me what you did to avoid significant discomfort....first cruise coming up and DW has a strong tendency to motion sickness..

[Nancyquilts]

MaryAnn-

We really care which ship goes around South America - have "been there, done that" twice, and if it isn't Prinsendam, we won't go again. We like to go anywhere on that ship. The others - on any line -are pretty much indistinguishable one from the other (IMHO). Not that I would refuse any cruise, but the Prinsendam is the tops. Nancy

[arzz]

The secret to avoiding motion sickness is to be alert and ahead of the weather and waves. If you wait until you are feeling ill it takes longer and is much harder to recover. Watch the seas, watch the "report from the bridge" on the TV and watch the wind strength and wave size. When it starts to rise, I take a bonine because that works for me. I then go and get a snack as I have found that an empty stomach makes the discomfort worse. Some people use sea bands or crystallized ginger or other medications such as drammamine. The key is to do whatever measures work for you BEFORE you feel ill. Then...do not sit and watch the horizon or curl up in a ball reading a book -- go and do something interesting (a trivia game is always good, the casino works, whatever) and forget about the seas.

[Grumpy1]

Somehow, this thread evolved into seeming to ME that 'it was a done deal but we don't know when,' and, also, 'we're still going on it in '07 '- very confusing.

 

Then some of you guys are already naming ships !! So I asked - what's what !?

I'll just have to wait until I hear it from the horse's mouth.

 

M.A.

 

Hmmmm, maybe I shouldn't reply to this post... I'm definitely not the horse's mouth... and the opposite of the horse's mouth is????:D But here's my take, for what it's worth:

 

It would appear that there is some activity, whether it be HAL attempting to sell or Saga or ??? trying to buy, but "negotiations are continuing"

 

HAL has plans for specific iteneraries through 2006 and some of 2007 and are actively marketing those cruises. It is very likely that those cruises will sail, even if the ship is on a leaseback from a new owner.

 

There is a drydock scheduled for early December in 2006. That's two years since her last one and just before back to back long cruises, so that drydock is right on the schedule that would be expected.

 

If, as posted earlier, a December 2007 cruise has been cancelled and a 23 day drydock scheduled, that would signal that something very major is going on. Major propulsion systems overhaul/replacement, or a total redesign of interior... something along those lines. 23 days is a long drydock to schedule within one year of the last one. I would think that would be the most significant tipoff that a change of ownership was in the works. But then we don't have any confirmation that a Dec 2007 drydock has been scheduled, so it's still all speculation.

 

Now, for something else to consider: There was a cruise scheduled for early December 2006 that was canceled so the drydock could be scheduled. This change was not made until after the decision was made to do the 66 day and 56 day cruises in 2007. So it is possible that Prinsendam could be getting prepped for some special voyages in 2008. There was one rumor around that HAL would do two world cruises in '07, but the final decision was one WC and 2 complimentary long cruises at the same time as the WC. Perhaps there would be two WC's in '08 with enough difference in itenerary to make them both attractive.

 

About July or August is when the plans for '08 long cruises will be finalized, based on past information. It will be interesting to see if Prinsendam is in the mix at that time.

[Southbound]

We booked the 2006 14-day Christmas/New Year's sailing of the Prinsendam three months ago and, based on the opinions of CC'ers who have been on her, are very much looking forward to this particular cruise. Not that we don't look forward to each of our HAL cruises, but this ship sounds very special, and we especially selected her in celebration of our 45th anniv. this year. So, we are certainly hopeful she will sail as scheduled -- with us on board. :D

[trubey]

. . . based on the opinions of CC'ers who have been on her . . . :D

 

Yup. A great, little ship. susana.

[Cruise_Lady]

Hello all:

My DH and I just booked the "European Farewell" from Civitavecchia to Fort Lauderdale in November 2007 on the Prinsendam.

I believe the people who were told their cruise was cancelled had been booked for the itinerary beginning in FLL just after ours disembarks.

We are hoping that our cruise goes ahead as planned!

[Maryandi]

Thanks, Grumpy and all who posted. It is clearer about the speculation-rumors, drydocks, etc,

 

We have 90 days on HAL and could not find a better line for a long journey. As we have never sailed the P, we don't have the allegience that some of you have-probably after our cruise, we will have it, too.

In the meantime, this trip is a big deal to us and I want to take it on any HAL ship, the P would be my first choice.

 

'sea' ya later, MaryAnn

[RevNeal]

I'm thinking about booking the Prinsendam's Transatlantic crossing from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale, departing November 3, 2007. :) The prices are nice.

 

That might be my last chance.

[RuthC]

I'm thinking about booking the Prinsendam's Transatlantic crossing from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale, departing November 3, 2007.

That's the start/finish line for the cruise I didn't get to board. I haven't had the heart to take another chance at it; now you've tempted me. I'm going to think about this one very hard.

To be able to get up the courage to plan that cruise again, and to be able to take it on the Prinsendam would be nice. Would be even nicer to have a friend aboard to keep my spirits up.

Yes, do think about it, Greg.

[RevNeal]

Ruth,

 

I've been looking at this cruise all day today. I'm slobbering.

My biggest annoyance is that I'm having trouble finding real photos of inside cabins on this ship. I'm willing to book the Single outside cabin (Q category) but I'd rather book an M category inside and pay single supplement for a bit more room. The prices I'm finding are not that bad doing that, either. If I do it as a solo it will cost me about $4000, not counting airfare. Christopher wouldn't be able to get away for this cruise, unfortunately, so I'd be doing it solo. I won't share with someone I don't know. Oh ... I'll be happy to share the SHIP with Ruth, of course!!!! :D

 

Does anyone have any GOOD photos of inside cabins ... M category, preferred, though any inside category would be nice. There is a definite LACK of information about these cabins on HAL's website or out on the internet. I've done a google search and have come up with a few photos, but not much.

[Grumpy1]

Hello all:

My DH and I just booked the "European Farewell" from Civitavecchia to Fort Lauderdale in November 2007 on the Prinsendam.

I believe the people who were told their cruise was cancelled had been booked for the itinerary beginning in FLL just after ours disembarks.

We are hoping that our cruise goes ahead as planned!

Your cruise is still on the HAL website, with cabins available in most categories. There are no sailings that I can find after your arrival in Fort Lauderdale. So I guess that all we can say with certainty at this time is "stay tuned for further developements".

[HeatherInFlorida]

Grumpy, I have a question. I remember you teased me when we booked the Prinsendam for the 10-day Southern Caribbean on 12/2/06. I was so thrilled to find a Prinsendam cruise we could afford because it is shorter than most.

 

You teased that we'd be on her just before going into drydock so we were in trouble. You said you were only joking with me, but now I'm just wondering if there is something negative about being on the last cruise before a ship goes into drydock?

 

Lucky thing I booked when I did because it looks like Prinsendam will be moving on. I'll probably fall in love and have to follow her wherever she goes:).

 

And thanks to Doug for all that great info about what's going on.

[Nancyquilts]

Having had the experience of an inside room with DH - they are adequate - especially for one person. The closet and bathroom are the same size as in the other cabins, but the cabin itself seemed to be about 10-12 feet square - and I'm remembering it seemed to be quite tiny compared to the outside rooms. On the other hand, it was the only way we could afford the trip (it was Seabourn Sun then). All the cabins are convenient, thanks to it's being a small ship, so if you wanted to book a guarantee, you wouldn't go wrong. Nancy

[RevNeal]

You teased that we'd be on her just before going into drydock so we were in trouble. You said you were only joking with me, but now I'm just wondering if there is something negative about being on the last cruise before a ship goes into drydock?

 

Heather, I'm not Grumpy but I'll venture a reply. In general, the thinking goes that a ship that is about to enter dry dock for major upgrade work, etc., may no be quite "up to snuff" -- i.e., the line saves repair work for the dock rather than doing it in-transit. Personally, apart from minor stuff, I've not noticed that to be the case ... and I've been on 2 cruises that were just prior to dry docking.

 

I wouldn't worry. The Prinsendam will be grand.

[RevNeal]

Nancy,

 

Thanks for the advice on the Prinsendam's inside cabins. As a single person, I'm fine with a small room. I just want a place to sleep, change clothing, wash, an poo. In general, I spend my time hanging out around the ship. :)

[Grumpy1]

Heather, I would not hesitate to sail on the last cruise before drydock. If things were not maintained it would be just as hard, if not harder, on the crew trying to do their normal jobs as it would be on the passengers, so they do everything they can to keep the ship... shipshape. I know there is one CC'er that will disagree, as she still insists that her expensive Holiday cruise was ruined because of all of the things that were wrong, but I'm sure that had she sailed immediately after drydock, she would have complained about the unfinished work that was ongoing at the start of our cruise.

 

We should be about due for another cruise about that time... have to give it some thought.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thank you, Greg, and thanks, Grumpy, for your input on that. I just got to worrying a little. Based on what you've both said, I'm not going to worry any more about it. I literally never notice the stuff that some CCers do ... guess I'm just too easy to please:p !

 

We lucked out with that amazing cabin on Promenade Deck aft and I think it's going to be great. Grumpy, I wish you and Slinkie would think about it! FLL to FLL ... couldn't be better! That would be wonderful to meet you. It's a wonderful "little" cruise (little for the Prinsendam, not for us;) ) and the price was just right, too.

[Grumpy1]

We will be on the Jan/Feb 2007 cruise, but by the end of 2007 will probably need to get our feet wet again. The Rome to FLL is what will probably be very tempting.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I'm going to peek at that one, too. I would love to do the transatlantic in that direction. That's if I could talk DH into flying to Rome! It's a lot harder from here than it was from NYC.

[Cruise_Lady]

Hello again!

Since we confirmed our booking, I have spent the last two weeks browsing the web for photos of the ship, walking tours of the ports, and just generally finding everything I can about the Prinsendam and this cruise. :)

Next year will be our 30th anniversary, so we wanted a cruise that was special to celebrate that, and I am sure that this is definitely the right one! Also, we will be in Cadiz for my birthday! Not a bad way to spend one's special day!

There are a few websites that I found with great reviews and photos, (sorry Revneal, no pics of inside cabins), and the wonderful postings by Grumpy and Slinkie of course! :D I would guess that 95% of the reviews I have read are positive. (and I decided that I don't believe the other 5%! lol)

 

I hope that those of you who are thinking of booking this cruise do so, because it would be great to discuss and plan along with you, and of course, meet you on board too! :)

[blue whale]

We are scheduled for the Taste of Two Continents Cruise from mid-Oct to early Dec on Prinsendam. I guess that means our cruise is the last one before dry dock clean up??? Good or bad?? But the itinerary is unique and that is why we booked.

 

Also, Grumpy, do you really think there is a chance of two world cruises in 08 from HAL? And will HAL come out with the itineraries in July and August? That's a long time to wait. We are hoping that HAL will include New Zealand in its world cruise. It's been a long time since HAL included New Zealand on a world itinerary.

[HeatherInFlorida]

blue whale, if you mean in 2006 mine's the last before dry dock. We cruise for 10 days out of FLL on 12/2:)

[Southbound]

And we're booked for the first one after her dry dock -- 14-day holiday sailing leaving FLL on Dec. 22nd. :D

[Grumpy1]

We are scheduled for the Taste of Two Continents Cruise from mid-Oct to early Dec on Prinsendam. I guess that means our cruise is the last one before dry dock clean up??? Good or bad?? But the itinerary is unique and that is why we booked.

 

Also, Grumpy, do you really think there is a chance of two world cruises in 08 from HAL? And will HAL come out with the itineraries in July and August? That's a long time to wait. We are hoping that HAL will include New Zealand in its world cruise. It's been a long time since HAL included New Zealand on a world itinerary.

If HAL follows what they did in 2005, there will probably be a questionaire on the current Grand World Voyage that will discuss possible iteneraries and ships for the 2008 GWV. That is when we first learned that the Amsterdam was the likely ship for the 2007 GWV and that the Prinsendam could also do a series of cruises that could be considered to be a GWV. At that time, marketing indicated that they wanted to have the itenerary finalized by July, but I think it was sometime in August when the first online brochure came out. I would think that 2008 will follow a similar timetable.

 

If the Amsterdam sails full next year and the two Prinsendam Grand Voyages do well, I think there is a strong possibility that there would be a similar arrangement for 2008. The problem that marketing faced was that the full world cruise was so popular that there weren't many segments available. People that couldn't take the full cruise felt that they were frozen out of segments. Adding the second ship with 56 and 66 day cruises was the answer they came up with.

 

We stopped in Tauranga and Auckland, NZ in 2005. I was surprised that there was no stop scheduled there for 2007. I suspect it will be on the list again in 2008 but that's just my own opinion.